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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27405658">i like my girls just like i like my honey</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/khaleeseas/pseuds/lupus'>lupus (khaleeseas)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), F/F, Fluff, Mai owns a flower shop, Ty Lee is a wedding/event planner, background zukka, literally just fluff that's it, they pine over one another</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:42:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,769</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27405658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/khaleeseas/pseuds/lupus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“What if she totally is just being friendly and I ruin our working relationship? She’s brought me half of my new customers in the last year - whether directly or by word of mouth,” Mai argued. “Or worse...what if she’s straight?”</p><p>“She was literally wearing a ‘girl in red’ t-shirt and had her jeans cuffed the last time we saw her,” Sokka deadpanned. “She ain’t straight.”</p><p>-</p><p>alternatively: mai owns a flower shop, ty lee is a popular wedding and event planner. mai's been pining over ty lee for some time when zuko + sokka hire her as their wedding planner. on the big day, fluff and a case of two gals just being wlw disasters ensues.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>164</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>i like my girls just like i like my honey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>did you know flowershop!mai is a <a href="https://imageshack.com/i/ns136768712659j">thing post-canon in the comics??</a> mai cutting flowers with her knives is something that can be so personal.</p><p>title is from kehlani's song "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCH_-Zn_rwo&amp;ab_channel=KEHLANI">honey</a>" which is a really sweet + lovely wlw bop 🥺</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The bell to the front door chimed, alerting Mai that her three p.m. appointment was there early. Mai had been (secretly) both dreading and looking forward to this appointment all week. She grabs her tablet with notes with the information the wedding planner had sent her earlier in the week about with information about the client and what they wanted in regards to floral arrangements and other plants for their wedding. She’s definitely stalling a little as she shuffles through the notes she’d written.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You gonna go out there or do you plan on hiding out here with me while you lose customers?” Zuko deadpanned from his desk in the corner of Mai’s sunny office where he took care of the actual business side of her flower shop all day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai just shot him a flat glare. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mai? You here?” the sweet voice called out from the front of her shop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit,” She whispered, then louder, “Coming!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt Zuko’s suspicious gaze follow her out of her office. She’d deal with that later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She came around the corner from the back hallway where the office was to find Ty Lee, a local wedding planner Mai had worked with quite a bit, perusing her flowers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ty Lee heard her approach, and suddenly Mai was hit with her trademark million-watt smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hi!” Ty Lee said. “It’s so good to see you.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her long, chestnut hair was braided into two pigtail braids today, a look that was incredibly endearing on her. They made her sweet persona appear that much sweeter, an effect that was amplified by her cropped, pink sweater.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good to see you, too,” Mai replied. She meant it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So! Sorry to pop in a little early, but I was speaking with my bride this morning and I wanted to touch base with you before she got here,” the other woman explained. “She’s looking for a more boho theme and wants the flowers to reflect that. Her bridesmaids are wearing this beautiful lilac color and she also wants to incorporate some powder blue into the floral arrangements along with white. She did also specifically say she’s not a fan of roses.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmmm,”  Mai said, thinking for a moment. “How about we do these instead?” Mai asked, showing Ty Lee a selection of delphinium that ranged in color from white to pale blue to lavender. “They’ll accent the hydrangeas quite nicely and give everything a more ‘boho’ feel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooooh, I love these,” Ty Lee gushed, big, grey eyes getting somehow impossibly bigger. “These will be gorgeous. You have such great taste, she’s going to be so happy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bride was indeed happy and the appointment went by quickly, with an order placed for centerpieces, bouquets, boutineers, and other accents for the reception space. One of Mai’s favorite things about Ty Lee was that she did a lot of her work and research for her clients beforehand and handled a lot of the communication, limiting Mai’s interactions with the people. Mai tried not to watch Ty Lee wistfully as she left, chatting excitedly with her client. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you got it bad,” Zuko deadpanned from the doorway of their shared office. His face was smug though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will fire you,” Mai threatened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There is literally no one else on planet earth that you c</span>
  <span>ould be stuck in this shop with all day so no, I don’t think you will,” Zuko said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t make me pull out the blackmail I have on </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> days of embarrassing pining before you and Sokka got together,” Mai warned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, shutting up now,” Zuko replied quickly before escaping back to his computer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Mai just didn’t want to hear it. She absolutely had it bad. Ty Lee was one of the most popular wedding and event planners in Republic City and she pretty much always recommended Mai to her clients since the first wedding they worked together over a year and a half ago. The amount of business she’d received due to Ty Lee’s word-of-mouth alone was so staggering, she’d had to hire more staff.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai wasn’t sure when her...</span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> for Ty Lee had started, but no matter how much Zuko teased her over it, it didn’t matter. She and Ty Lee were as different as the sun and the moon. Ty Lee was all warmth and smiles and extroversion. Mai was reserved and - though it was only a mask - she could come off cold and aloof. Those who knew and loved her knew that wasn’t necessarily the case. Mai chose her people and loved and defended them fiercely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either way, it didn’t matter. Ty Lee was probably not even interested in her. Even if she always seemed so excited and happy to see Mai and went out of her way to talk to Mai at the events they worked on together, it didn’t mean much. Ty Lee was just like that with everyone, it seemed. Besides, she was an acquaintance for Spirit’s sake and they worked together so often, Mai didn’t want to make things weird with her embarrassing feelings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was fine. She’d just bury it and move on. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So have you guys made any strides on your wedding, other than a date and a venue?” Mai asked Sokka and Zuko over lunch. “As Zuko’s</span>
  <em>
    <span> Person of Honor</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I think I should be one of the first to know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were fairly newly engaged but the wedding itself was less than eight months away. That was a while in normal people's time, but it wedding time it was like the blink of an eye. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we caved and got a wedding planner,” Sokka admitted.  “I mean I’m normally pretty good at this stuff, but it’s just so overwhelming and it literally feels like a full-time job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Sokka found the planner himself. She came highly recommended from some friends,” Zuko added throwing Mai a shit-eating grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai narrowed her eyes. If Zuko meant what she thought he meant...“You didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We did,” Zuko countered, smug as all hell. “But before you get all uppity about it, if you </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> think we chose our wedding planner solely because you have a crush on her, then you’re more self-absorbed than my sister.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai just shot him a nasty look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> lost here,” Sokka cut in. “Mai knows Ty Lee?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We work a lot of weddings together,” Mai admitted through gritted teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oooh and you have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>crush </span>
  </em>
  <span>on her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai gripped her table knife threateningly. “I will stab you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, Sokka had grown so used to her he hardly flinched. Instead, he grinned gleefully. Mai glared back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We chose her because I like how she handles everything and every single one of the events we’ve worked with her has gone seamlessly,” Zuki said, interrupting her little staredown with Sokka. “You know I’m right. She’s the best wedding planner in the  city.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She is,” Mai agreed, begrudgingly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly. So, first of all, you’re welcome because as my Person of Honor, you’ll be working rather closely with her, and second try to maybe find a way to work past your emotional repression and find a way to tell the girl you like her.”’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s really rich coming from the guy who pined over his best friend for </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span> before he actually did anything about it,” Mai scoffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awww babe, you had a crush on me? That’s so embarrassing,” Sokka teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly. So I’m the expert on this. Just go for it,” Zuko encouraged, completely ignoring his fiance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if she totally is just being friendly and I ruin our working relationship? She’s brought me half of my new customers in the last year - whether directly or by word of mouth,” Mai argued. “Or worse, what if she’s straight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was literally wearing a ‘girl in red’ t-shirt and had her jeans cuffed the last time we saw her,” Sokka deadpanned. “She ain’t straight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about this? I’ll make you two a deal,” Mai countered. “If, while we’re working together on your wedding, I get the vibes that she’s into me I’ll say something - ”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” Zuko and Sokka exclaimed in unison.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“ - after the wedding’s over,” Mai added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No fun,” Zuko grumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to cause a huge, awkward rift with your wedding planner over my stupid feelings, Zuko.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s oddly touching of you,” Zuko said. “But fine. I’ll take it.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Realistically, given the nature of weddings, Mai didn’t have all that much contact with Ty Lee until just before the wedding. Normally, Mai stayed clear of actually going to the weddings and events she provided flowers for. She preferred to do all the arranging and then sending her team to do the rest the day of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Admittedly, Mai had started showing up more and more often to the “day of” to help set up whenever it was one of Ty Lee’s weddings. Sue her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As happy as she was to be such a huge, integral part of Zuko and Sokka’s day...it also meant that she had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> of responsibilities between providing flowers and being Zuko’s “Person of Honor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was in sweats and a tank top with her hair and makeup done, directing her people around the reception space when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ty Lee was there, hair piled into an artfully messy bun atop her head and wearing a flowy sundress that showed off her freckled shoulders and delicate collarbones. Mai failed a little at not staring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi Mai, oh - !” Ty Lee faltered a little as she took Mai in a slight blush coming to her cheeks. “Oh, wow you look so pretty. Not that you don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> look pretty! It’s just that this is...different pretty? I’m going to stop putting my foot in my mouth now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai felt something in her chest loosen at Ty Lee’s faltering. Maybe Zuko had been right after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, I know what you meant,” Mai said, gently. “Thank you, Ty Lee. I like your sundress.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pink on the other woman’s cheeks deepened, but she cleared her throat and surveyed the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The set-up is going smoothly,” Ty Lee noted. “And your arrangements are of course, beautiful. I like that you went with deeper blues to go along with the red. Sometimes blue and red can clash if it’s done wrong. You did an amazing job, like always.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai was touched, truly. “Thank you.  I told them red, blue, and white could be tacky but they insisted. It was one of the few things they were adamant on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmmm I have to say, I was fully expecting Zuko to be a secret Groomzilla,” Ty Lee joked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh he can absolutely be neurotic sometimes,” Mai agreed. “Sokka, too. But somehow they mellow each other out. They’re good for each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Ty Lee agreed wistfully, looking out on the bustle of the venue. She looked at Mai, biting her lip like she was going to ask her something when Aang interrupted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mai! C’mon, time to get dressed. We have to take pictures soon!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see you later,” Mai told Ty Lee, who nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll finish setting up everything here and making sure everything’s accounted for while you guys take pictures and during the actual ceremony, everything will go perfectly,” Ty Lee promised</span>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ceremony itself was quick but sweet,  intimate, and personal. Mai definitely, embarrassingly, shed a tear or two but to be fair there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. On top of that, Zuko had been her best friend since childhood, and Sokka had grown on her immensely since he started dating Zuko. The tears were absolutely warranted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ceremony faded into cocktail hour, then dinner, then the drinks and dancing part of the evening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> The majority of their friends were out, tearing it up on the dancefloor and while it wasn’t necessarily her thing to actually partake in, Mai loved watching her friends make fools of themselves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She saw very little of Ty Lee, but that’s because the other woman was off doing her job. Still, any time she caught Ty Lee’s eyes, she always sent a smile Mai’s way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until after everything was over and Zuko and Sokka had been given their send-off, rolling away in a vintage Rolls-Royce Dawn Drophead, making out in exuberantly in plain sight for everyone to see, that Mai had a moment to get Ty Lee alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai stayed back to help with the cleanup while the majority of their friends and family got shuttled home by the accurately coined “Drunk Busses” that Zuko and Sokka had (smartly) hired for the night. Mai had enough in her system to give her enough courage for what she was going to do next, but not so much that she was still one-hundred percent coherent. She worked side by side with Ty Lee in mostly comfortable silence. It didn’t take long for all the knick-knacks and decor to be put away. Mai even saved a couple of the table arrangements for Sokka and Zuko. All that was left was for the table and chairs to be put away, and the venue was going to take care of that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything went perfectly,” Mai finally told Ty Lee. “I can see why you’re so highly sought after as an event planner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That blush of hers was back. “Thank you. I’m lucky to love what I do. And I love being part of days like today where the love is so obvious and palpable. Gives me hope, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That wistful tone was back and Ty Lee was looking at her with those big, grey eyes and Mai was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>do this</span>
  </em>
  <span>, dammit.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“So. I totally don’t want to overstep. Or cross any professional boundaries here,” Mai started, “but I...I really like you, Ty Lee. And I was wondering if maybe I could take you on a date sometime? If your answer is no I totally understand and I hope it doesn’t affect our - ”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai was cut off by Ty Lee all but launching herself into Mai, pulling her into a hug. Mai was understandably startled but hugged Ty Lee back, feeling a tentative smile on her own face. When they pulled back, Ty Lee was </span>
  <em>
    <span>beaming.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank the Spirits,” Ty Lee sighed. “I’ve been wanting to ask you out for a while now but I wasn’t sure if you even liked me - or girls - in general. I actually thought you and Zuko were together for a bit there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ew,” Mai said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ty Lee laughed. “Well imagine my surprise when one of my new clients showed up and introduced me to their fiance, Zuko. And then Zuko was telling me you were going to be his Person of Honor. So I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>extra</span>
  </em>
  <span> excited and kinda nervous for this wedding since you’d be in it  and - ”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ty Lee,” Mai reminded her, gently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes? Oh! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’ll go on a date with you,” Ty Lee said, hands coming down to squeeze Mai’s as she bounced on her toes a little. “Give me your phone and I’ll put my number in. I have some weddings coming up the next few weekends but I’m sure we can make something work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai pulled her phone from the dress’s pockets - she’s picked this bridesmaid dress for that very purpose - and handed it over to Ty Lee who made quick work of putting her number in Mai’s phone and returning it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need a ride home?” Ty Lee offered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no I’m good. I’m going to catch a ride back with Zuko’s uncle so I can pop by their place. I’m taking care of their cat while they’re on their honeymoon. Thank you, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ty Lee hesitated for a moment, biting her lip. “This might be a little preemptive...but can I kiss you before we go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mai was so taken aback all she could do was whisper a hoarse “yes” before they were both leaning in, meeting in the middle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The kiss was soft and sweet and slow, like honey. It was perfect.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were both blushing as they parted and Ty Lee could barely keep the grin off her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Mai sighed. “I really do have to go now. I’ll text you, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ty Lee gave her hand one final squeeze. “I look forward to it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She met Iroh at his car, still floating a little. He gave her that knowing look of his that was so quintessentially </span>
  <em>
    <span>Iroh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have a good night?” He asked suggestively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>great</span>
  </em>
  <span> night,” Mai agreed.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>mai and ty lee fall in love and join their businesses and take republic city's wedding industry by storm</p><p>I made a lil edit for this fic <a href="https://khaleeseas.tumblr.com/post/633999379249922048">here</a> and also a summary post <a href="https://khaleeseas.tumblr.com/post/633999320058855427">here</a> on tumblr if you'd like to share 😁</p><p>i really enjoyed writing these two and as guilty as I am of writing a shit-ton of zukka, I think fandom could always use more f/f  content. soooo if you have any mailee prompts please send them my way either here or on tumblr. hope yall enjoyed!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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